Trexquant Investment LP Has $5.60 Million Position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,823 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $5,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VVV. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Valvoline during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Valvoline by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 500,482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,107,000 after buying an additional 62,493 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Valvoline by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 88,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,200,000 after acquiring an additional 6,097 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Valvoline by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 4,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Valvoline during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,114,000. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VVV. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Valvoline in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. TD Securities initiated coverage on Valvoline in a report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valvoline news, insider Julie Marie O’daniel sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.41, for a total transaction of $224,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,305 shares in the company, valued at $572,560.05. The trade was a 28.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valvoline Stock Performance

NYSE:VVV opened at $34.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54 and a beta of 1.32. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.99 and a fifty-two week high of $48.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.41.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 143.64%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valvoline Company Profile

Valvoline Inc engages in the operation and franchising of vehicle service centers and retail stores in the United States and Canada. The company, through its service centers, provides fluid exchange for motor oil, transmission and differential fluid, and coolant; parts replacement for batteries, filters, wiper blades, and belts; and safety services, such as tire inflation and rotation, bulbs, and safety checks.